Ring Ring… I’m calling

Superdave used to say “Ring, Ring… I’m Calling.” When he’d make loose (but quite often correct) calls while playing our Weds Night $1/$2 NL Game. Call is like a four-letter word to me, somewhat of a dirty thing to say or do. I’m much happier doing the betting or raising.

Some of my best sessions, if there was a bet on the river, and I said “Call,” I won the pot well over 90% of the time, if not right around 100%. I might’ve been in there with squadoosh or felt I no longer had the best hand… or been bluffed, and folded… but the key was, I almost never made “Crying Calls” that were incorrect, that I knew no matter what the math was, I was pretty much giving away money.

Then there’s those hands where I lost after I might’ve bet and been called. But usually those result in a rocket-muck due to me bluffing, not a value bet gone bad.

Moral of the story is, if I called, I usually won at showdown. It feels good. You’re making very few mistakes. You’re not leaking away money… not crying out “Medic!” because your chips are bleeding away.

I went over to the new Monday Night $1/$2 NL run by E-Honda and Keenan. This was only their second week, but the game is pretty strong from the general player population. A lot of the players have always played MD-Poker home games, but it just-so-happens that they live REALLY close to the location of this new game.

I walked in the door and Scotty Diggs was sitting in the #1 seat, sure enough in for the full amount. Man likes to gamble, and he doesn’t want to be short stacked when he makes a hand or wants to make a play.

Elusive Adam eventually made his way into the two seat. I was kind enough to not only continue a hand after he bet $70, left himself with $95 behind, and the pot was already $180… but I put him all-in for that last $95. I was kind in this case because little did I know… although I had a gut feeling… I only had one out to win the whole pot, four more to chop. But is OK.

Ricky Bobby was in the four seat. Ricky hit a busy season with his General Contractor business and wasn’t around the games for a little while. Since ATLarge2K7 Ricky’s been showing his face alot more. He’s the kinda guy that will have $51 in front of him, open for $10 of it UTG, and when the flop comes he can insta-c/r his stack after a bet and a raise, because hefroppanut.

hefroppanut (phrase) – “He flopped the nuts.” SEE ALSO ifroppanut

PDoggie started off in the five seat. When we play $1/$2 NL locally with Paul we should all say “Thank you internet tournament players!” like first graders in unison responding to the teacher’s morning hello. Paul is an internet tourney beast. He beat up the SNGs and MTTs for literally tens of thousands last year, and he’s not too shabby at live tournaments or $1/$2 NL up at the Borgata. But ’round these parts, we filet his ass and fry him up nice and tasty like the cash game fish he really is. I can say all this knowing full well he’ll be reading it within a day or so. He’s so good at tournies because he’s so damned aggressive in tournament situations. Problem is, it’s a slightly different ball of wax, these here cash games. He reminds me of Phil Hellmuth, honestly. Tremendous tournament player, but boy do the mouths water when he approaches a cash table.

Ah, Keon. This mother fucker murders me on the rare occassions where I get into my own game. But on other turf, his ass is mine. I did some sick shit to him at the Fish Tank already when he was on my left, and on the button on the river in a sizable five-way pot. I knew he couldn’t let it go checked around, he couldn’t beat me, but I also couldn’t beat atleast two other people in the hand. He’s very last to act after it’s checked to him, board is kinda scary, and three others fold. I call him with the bull shit, and scoop a $300+ pot. But anyway – he’s stopped fucking with me a bit since that hand. That hand and the 82o.

The Merk was sitting in the seven, and when I looked around the room, I was pretty sure I wanted to act after his rock-tight image. I say image because that’s what it is. He’s not really THAT tight, he just so happens to have a good hand when he puts alot of money in the pot, usually.

ShortBuy took the nine seat to start. If he were in for any more than $60 at a time, his rebuys would’ve been painful to watch. He must’ve called out “Chip Doctor!” atleast five or six times… he couldn’t gather up any steam until late night, somwhere around his 93rd or 94th buy-in.

Big John took the yen, and he was in rare form on Monday night. One hand, a relatively easy fold considering the raise in EP, re-raise from MP, and 4x the re-raise all-in bet from the button… John showed me he was folding QQ from the straddle. For John, that’s a big fold. It was also correct. Ricky (the MP re-raiser) called with Ahab the Ace-Rag, and did not improve vs Merk’s (the button) one-pair (of Aces).

A few others came and went, but there were numerous seat changes.

Last Thursday Keenan came over to the house to help us move some furniture. We talked about the joys and sorrows of running a game, and he said something along the lines of “I can’t play in our Monday Night game unless there are two seats open. Worst thing I can do is sit down, bust a player, and then go right to bed at midnight/0100. Nobody wants to see the host hit and run like that.”

Correct, no one does want to see the host hit-and-run. However, watching Keenan get in the game and play like complete donkey was interesting. One hand, Keenan opens for $8 UTG and by the time it got to me on the button, I was looking at around $67 in the pot if I just call the bet. I was tempted to pop it for a pot-sized raise, but didn’t want to get toooo cute.

No one in the blinds popped it, and literally nine of us took a flop for $8 each. Flop is something like . Checks to Ricky, and he bets out $45 into the $70+ pot, and I’m pretty sure he’s posturing at the pot, not so much bluffing, but not betting a monster, either. So it folds to me, and Ricky and I each have healthy stacks. If I just call, there’s over $160 in the pot. I raise $80 more, folds to Keenan, and he goes all-in. Ricky mucks. Good, I was hoping that would happen… but now there’s Keenan to worry about.

I can’ think of hand I’m beating for him to c/r two people for an unfoldable $18 more. I make the call because I’m getting approximately… $283:$18 on my money… yeah… not folding anything.

As I suspected (and prayed after he c/r’d), not only was my hand good… but when the fell on the turn, Keenan was drawing to two outs to win the whole pot. He had 7x5x OESD. Rivers comes and Keenan sheepishly says “I’ve got a five.”

“Oooh! I’ve got a six.”

Shipment, please.

Two more hands with Merk and PDoggie that were worth noting, but as of right now, I just want to publish this thing…